Large-scale companies change paid family leave rules

Kinsella used the same benefit to attend Everett's birth, but thanks to the company's new policy, he plans to take two more weeks next month using the paid parental leave benefit to care for the kids and help his partner Sydney get ready to go back to work.

First Data, a credit-card processor and payments technology company, has more than 5,000 Omaha employees.

The Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/2j64Fia ) reports that while salaried workers were the main beneficiaries, some companies, such as Netflix, Ikea, Levi Strauss & Co. and Chobani, said they would be offering paid parental leave to eligible hourly employees.

First Data is among those that scrapped the maternity and paternity categories and opted for benefits that recognize primary and secondary caregivers, regardless of gender, said Karen Whalen, the company's senior vice president of human resources.

PayPal, which also has major operations in the Omaha area, began offering eight weeks of paid leave for expectant mothers as well as eight weeks of bonding leave for mothers and fathers at full pay for eligible employees last January.

"While many companies offer new birth moms 6 to 8 weeks of paid leave as part of their short-term disability plans, this doesn't offer any support for same-sex couples, those who are adopting or fostering kids, or fathers," Zych said.

The 1993 federal Family and Medical Leave Act allowed men and women to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a child or a sick relative, but it applies only to employers with 50 or more employees.

Because of the restriction, more than 40 percent of workers employed at smaller companies aren't covered by the federal law.

Technology companies such as Netflix, Facebook, Microsoft and Adobe Systems were among the first companies to offer generous paid time off terms to new parents.

Energy service company Exelon, home furnishings retailer Ikea, financial services provider American Expr